Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reflect on ‘special’ bond as only living members of The Beatles

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They get by with a little help from each other.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are looking back on their decades-long friendship as the only surviving members of The Beatles.

The duo reflected on their “special” bond in a profile of Starr in The New York Times published on Wednesday, July 2.

McCartney and Starr have been the last Beatles standing for nearly 25 years. AP

“With John and George not here, I think we realize nothing lasts forever,” McCartney, 83, said. “So we grasp onto what we have now because we realize that it’s very special.”

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The Beatles were active from 1960 until the four-piece rock band formed in Liverpool broke up in 1970.

McCartney and Starr, 84, were joined by John Lennon, who was shot and killed in 1980 at age 40, and George Harrison, who died from lung cancer in 2001 at age 58.

The Beatles were active from 1960 until they broke up in 1970. Bettmann Archive

The pair have been the last Beatles standing for nearly 25 years.

“It’s something hardly anyone else has. In fact, in our case, it’s something no one else has,” McCartney continued. “There’s only me and Ringo, and we’re the only people who can share those memories.”

In December 2024, McCartney and Starr reunited onstage for the first time in five years during the final night of McCartney’s “Got Back” tour.

McCartney and Starr reunited onstage for the first time in five years in December 2024. REUTERS

Starr joined McCartney at London’s O2 arena to perform Beatles hits “Helter Skelter” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

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“Should we rock? Get on your kit,” McCartney said as Starr appeared.

At the end of the show, Starr said, “It’s fantastic, playing with me old mate, but there comes a time when we’ve got to go home. All that remains to be said… I’ve had a great night, and I love you all.”

McCartney and Starr released “Now and Then” in 2023. Getty Images

McCartney told the New York Times that even though “Helter Skelter” is an “out-and-out rocker,” he found himself getting “a little bit emotional.”

In 2023, McCartney and Starr released “Now and Then,” billed as “the last Beatles song.”

Originally written and recorded by the late John Lennon before his death, the track was completed with the help of AI, which was used to refine the “Imagine” singer’s vocals.

“Now and Then” earned the band a Grammy for Best Rock Performance at the 2025 awards. Getty Images

The final version earned the band a Grammy for Best Rock Performance and a nomination for Record of the Year at the 2025 awards.

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Starr also recently admitted that McCartney was the reason the “Twist and Shout” band released so much music.

“Because of Paul, who was the workaholic of our band, we made a lot more records than John and I would’ve made,” Starr told Dan Rather for AXS TV. “We liked to sit around a little more and then Paul would call, ‘All right lads,’ and we’d go in.”

The Beatles are set to get the silver screen biopic treatment. AFP/Getty Images

The Beatles are the latest musical act set to get the silver screen biopic treatment — in four separate films.

Directed by Sam Mendes (“1917” and “Skyfall”), each installment, together titled “The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event,” will focus on one member of the iconic group.

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The cast of the biopic series was announced at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas.

Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Joseph Quinn will portray the iconic British rock band in the upcoming biopic series. Ilaria Urbinati / Instagram

Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison.

All four movies are set to hit theaters in April 2028.